


Iron Heart

by PaxieAmor



Series: Lady Iron of SHIELD [4]
Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Lady Iron of SHIELD, M/M, Other, Paxie Has Lost Her Goddamn Mind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-19
Updated: 2012-04-12
Packaged: 2017-11-02 04:33:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/365004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaxieAmor/pseuds/PaxieAmor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Toni comes to the aid of another super hero, proving that just because her heart is made of iron, doesn’t mean it’s just as cold.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This one will be interesting, bare with me.

Toni Stark was amazed to see that she was leading a somewhat normal life. She had a stable relationship with the man of her dreams, was running a very successful technological company, had the strangest—yet most caring—family in the world, and if that weren’t enough, she was a super hero. Life was good.

For her. She knew of someone else who wasn’t having as good as a life as she was; a sixteen-year-old boy named Peter Parker.

He first came under her radar a year earlier—two months after Vanko, three before Steve was revived—through the Maria Stark Foundation (MSF), the charity Toni wanted to hate because her mother loved it more than anything (including Toni). Once she stopped focusing on the name and started focusing on all the good they did, she couldn’t help loving it. That wasn’t the point though; the point was that she came across the file on Peter Parker, the teenaged science nerd who had recently lost his uncle and was working hard to care for his ailing aunt (he had a “job” at the Daily Bugle as a photographer; wasn’t officially on payroll, but J.J. was known to pay anyone cheaply for a good photograph and Peter seemed to have an inside line into many fantastic pictures of Spider-Man) and to make his way through high school and hopefully college. She liked the look of him, the love of science was a plus and he seemed to be a good kid that just needed a chance. She informed him of his full-ride scholarship after high school personally and after an hour of chatting with him about the theoretics of time travel over the tea and cookies his aunt served, she was very pleased with her choice.

While everyone knows that Toni has poor impulse control, very few people know that the Iron Man suit has x-ray vision. So when Iron Man met Spider-Man a week later, she couldn’t resist peeking behind his mask.

Peter was invited to lunch at Stark Enterprises the next day.

“I know what you’re doing,” she stated plainly as they ate their lunch of pepperoni pizza, boneless Buffalo wings and root beer at her desk. “I realize you have your reasons for doing it, which is why I’m not going to tell you to stop.”

“You’re not?” Peter asked. His face had paled considerably following ‘I know what you’re doing’ and was now starting to regain some of its color.

“I’m not. However, I am going to be keeping an eye on you. If you have any problems, let me know. If your GPA drops so much as a decimal point, I will be on you like cheese on pizza.” She picked up another slice, quite happy that the cheese didn’t move an inch, illustrating her point perfectly.

“Yes, Miss Stark…”

“I also expect you to contact me if you’re having any major issues with your… extra-curricular activity. It’s not just you out there; you don’t have to do this alone.” She took a bite of her pizza. “I may be quoting something someone said to me recently, so obviously _I’m_ still learning this and will give you some leeway. You have at least two screw ups before I’ll get mad. Maybe three.” Peter cracked a smile.

“Yes, Miss Stark.” She quirked an eyebrow at him.

“One more thing, Peter? Call me Toni.”

Sometime after her first meeting with Peter, Toni came across the files of his parents; Richard and Mary Parker, who were SHIELD agents. Toni found a picture of the pair in their file and felt her heart skip a beat; she knew Mary. She worked with Howard, of course, but Toni _knew_ her… Mary had been the one to teach seven-year-old Toni to knit. Mary Parker (Fitzpatrick at the time) came into her room one day, gave her a pair of needles and a skein of red yarn, and sat down on the bed beside her, teaching her to cast on, to garter stich, to purl… by the time Mary had to leave, Toni had the start of a misshapen scarf.

“Can you come see me again?” Toni asked eagerly, smiling broadly.

“I’ll do my best, dear,” Mary replied, returning her smile. “Keep working on that scarf, okay? I can’t wait to see how it turns out.”

“I will!”

Mary came back a time or two, but eventually she stopped coming; Toni tried not to be heart broken, but it was next to impossible. Reading through the file as an adult, Toni learned what happened to the young woman who had been her friend; she had been a SHIELD data analyst and translator, assigned to an office overseas (the file didn’t say which one). While there, she met Richard Parker, whom she would later marry. She was promoted to a field agent and worked with her husband. Their son, Peter, was born August 30th, 1996; they went MIA, presumed dead, six years later.

It was raining inside the office the day Toni read that; that’s why the pages got all wet and fuck anyone who thought otherwise.

Back to the present: Toni received a phone call from MSF saying that Peter had decided not to accept the scholarship. Toni wanted to call him personally and try to get an answer out of him; she didn’t want to alienate him. Over that year, she had built a relationship with Peter, mentoring him in a way she wished she had been mentored by… well, anyone. So, she didn’t call him. Instead she called his Aunt May; after she got what she needed from her, she called Nick Fury.

“I promise,” she told him, “I will do whatever the hell you want, I just need this one thing.”

“You do whatever the hell I want anyway,” Fury replied. “Eventually.”

“Yes, but I will take the ‘eventually’ out of the equation; I won’t even argue this time.” It would have been silent, but Toni wasn’t convinced she couldn’t hear the gears turning inside his head, trying to decide what would be less hassle; giving her what she wanted or having to listen her bitch the next time he wanted her to do something.

“Alright, Stark; what do you want?” There was more silence after Toni told him what she wanted. “That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“You’ve gotten the other party’s permission.”

“Mostly, just have to talk to the kid.”

“Fine.” Toni was very happy Fury couldn’t see her punch the air right then.

“Thank you, Sir!” she hung up before he could say anything more, quickly punching in another number. She waited through the first ring, and the second, unable to stop herself from grinning when on the third ring, someone picked up.

“Hello?”

“Peter, Toni Stark. I want you here for lunch. I’ll send a car, where are you?”

Lunch was again pizza and wings and root beer and Peter looked just as nervous this time as he had the first. It was amusing, to Toni anyway.

“If this is about the scholarship, Toni…”

“Peter, why didn’t you tell me your aunt was sick?” His jaw dropped. “I told you to let me know if you had any problems and I meant that…”

“What can you do?” Peter asked a little bitterly. “The doctors want to put her into a home; I’d have to go into foster care…”

“You’re only half right,” Toni replied, sipping her soda. “Doctors _do_ want her to be in a home because they can help her better there. She won’t have to stay in one forever, but for now it’s the best option.”

“She can’t afford that…”

“ _I_ can; I’ve already talked to your aunt and offered her my assistance.” Peter’s eyes widened.

“Really?”

“Of course. She turned me down.”

“What?!” Toni knew she shouldn’t tease the boy in this way, but it was so much fun.

“She refuses to leave you to foster care with a bunch of strangers,” Toni continued. “She wants you with someone she knows, someone she trusts… so, the only way she’ll let me help her is if I take you in myself.” Peter’s eyes were already wide; another surprise would pop them out of his head.

“You?”

“Oh yes.” She smiled at him, watching him assess her, trying to figure out just how serious she was. “You would essentially be the Dick Grayson to my Bruce Wayne; while your aunt is receiving care in the nicest convalescent home in the city, I would be your guardian. You’d have to follow my rules, which are basically the same as they’ve always been. Possibly with a curfew added, I haven’t decided yet.” Her face turned serious. “This all depends on you, Peter; you have to agree to this, your aunt won’t let me do anything if you don’t. I’m not going to make you retire Spider-Man, I won’t even make you tell the Avengers who you are; you _will_ have to work with us and if I tell you to do something when you’re suited up, you will listen. If I tell you to run, you run and then we discuss it later.” She took a deep breath, letting it out slow. “I’m probably not selling this too well…”

“I’ll do it.” Toni’s eyes widened this time. “My aunt’s everything to me, Toni; she’s done so much for me and never asked me to do anything in return… if she wants me to go live with someone I like so she can get better, then I’ll do it.” He grinned at her. “Can I get Hulk to beat up bullies for me?” Toni grinned back.

“Peter, if anyone’s bullying you, I’ll beat them up myself.”

“Awesome.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is slightly inspired by gyzym's "The Only John Wayne Left in This Town". It's in my bookmarks, go give it a read ^_^

So, Toni had to explain things to the rest of the Avengers; it was made easier by Peter giving her permission to tell the rest of the team that he is Spider-Man.

“That little _punk_ is Spider-Man?!” Clint exclaimed. Toni narrowed her eyes; more importantly, everyone else narrowed their eyes as well. “Sorry…”

“I feel it is a grand gesture, Lady Iron!” Thor said whole heartedly. He clapped her on the back, almost sending her into the kitchen counter they were standing around. “You are to be commended for your kindness!” The last time Toni was ‘to be commended’ for anything, there was singing involved. Thor can _not_ sing. Nor can he be convinced of this incapability. Someone needed to put a stop to this now.

“Ground rules!” Toni said quickly. “Peter is _sixteen_ , which means he is underage! Clint, your porn watching will need to be done in your own bedroom; Natasha, he’s a teenage boy and you’re smoking hot, he will stare occasionally and you can’t kill him for it; Thor, keep your clothes on at all times; Bruce, he loves science and will ask you a million questions, don’t answer anything that he doesn’t have security clearance for; and Steve…” She looked over at Steve, who was calmly sipping a cup of coffee, an amused smile on his face. “…carry on.”

“Don’t have anything for the Captain?” Natasha asked, a slight twinkle in her eye.

“Do you?” Toni looked around at her companions; not one of them had anything to say. “That’s everything then! Any questions?” Bruce raised his hand. “You’re killing me with the hand raising.”

“Sorry,” Bruce replied, sheepishly. “Is he really going to ask me questions?”

“Probably… hell, _I_ ask you questions.”

“Well, yes, but you understand my answers, I don’t have to dumb it down for you…”

“Bruce, you know those webs he shoots? He built the mechanisms him _self_ , he came up with the ‘webbing’ on his own. Speaking as a former teenaged genius, the kid is a teenaged genius. He will be fine.” Bruce considered this for a moment.

“Objection withdrawn.” Toni smiled, patting him on the back.

“Anyone else?”

“When’s he coming?” Natasha asked.

“End of the week. You’ve all volunteered to help me move his aunt into her new apartment, by the way.” Surprisingly, no one groaned about this. It pleased Toni greatly. “Next?”

“Will he be an Avenger now?” Thor asked.

“Yes and no; depending on the situation, he will be allowed to assist us, but my first priority is to keep my promise to his aunt and keep him safe. If I think it’s too dangerous for Spider-Man, I’m going to say so and Peter has already agreed to abide by that. However, if Steve and I disagree, as leader of the team, he gets to overrule me.” The team nodded their agreement with this. “Other questions, comments, concerns?”

“Where is he staying?” The question came from Steve; always the practical one.

“My old room,” Toni replied, quickly adding “from when I was a kid.”

“Where’s that?” Clint asked, raising his eyebrows.

“In the back attic.” Toni replied, as if it were no big deal. The way everyone was staring at her, however, told her otherwise. “…what?”

“ _Back_ attic?” Bruce asked.

“Yes, of course. The front attic is where the actual stuff is stored and the back attic is my old bedroom.”

“Do you get to one through the other?” Clint asked.

“No, the front attic has stairs, surprisingly, at the front of the house. The back attic stairs are, say it with me! In the back.” No one said it with her; Toni felt cheated.  “You guys suck.”

“I would like to see this old bedroom!” Thor stated boldly. “You will show it to us, of course?” Toni looked at the rest of her teammates; all of them appeared eager to see her old room. As little as a year ago, Toni probably would have told them to go fuck themselves. Today however…

“Sure. I need help moving stuff anyway.”

She led the team up to the third floor, then down the hallway leading away from Natasha’s room. At the end of said hallway was an old door; stuck to the front was a piece of paper, yellowed with age, that read “Toni’s Room”.

“It’s going to smell a little musty,” Toni said, opening the door. She then made her way up the stairs, a simple flight that she hadn’t scaled in ages. “I haven’t been up here in… ten years at least.” She hadn’t been up there long that last time, just long enough to realize she was an adult, her parents were dead and she didn’t have to hide away from them anymore. She couldn’t help wondering what her teammates would pick up on first.

“You have a complete solar system hanging from your ceiling and it _moves_ ,” Bruce said in awe.

“You would have a chemistry set up here,” Natasha added.

“You have quite the extensive library, Lady Iron!” Thor boomed. “Tell me, what exactly is a Nancy Drew and a Hardy Boy?”

“Do they still publish those?” Steve asked, running to the book case and looking over the books. “Oh my god, you have all of them…” Toni just smiled, watching her teammates… no, watching her _friends_ look over these small memorials from her childhood. She felt something warm inside her; pretty sure it’s happiness.

“Oh my god!” Clint’s outburst got everyone’s attention; he was on the far side of the room, which spanned the entire width and about a third of the length of the house, standing next to… well, Toni really couldn’t call it anything other than what it was. It was her stage. She had built it herself the summer after she’d gotten her heart transplant. It was nothing fancy, just high enough off the ground to say so and wide enough to hold her instruments; visible were a drum kit, couple of guitars and a keyboard, but Toni knew she had some others hidden in the back. “Holy shit,” Clint continued, looking everything over. “Can you play all of these?”

“I spent five years of my life on bed rest,” she replied. “I had to do something when knitting got boring and people stopped leaving electronics in my reach.”

“Even this?” Hidden back behind the drum kit was an old banjo, which Clint was cradling like it was a baby.

“I’ll admit that no, I can’t really play the banjo.” She chuckled slightly, in spite of the fact she was admitting that was something she couldn’t do. “Can’t get the fingering right.” The entire room watched in shock as Clint played a few verses _Oh, Susana_ , the only flaw being the un-tuned instrument. Everyone except Toni. “I had it narrowed down to that or a guitar, but it wouldn’t surprise me if you could play both.”

“How’d you know?” Clint asked with a grin.

“Every time we play Guitar Hero, you go on about how it isn’t “real” guitar.” Toni grinned right back at him. “Only a “real” guitarist would keep bringing that up.” Before Clint could reply, there came an exclamation of interest from Thor.

“Lady Iron!” he said cheerfully, holding up a uniquely shaped case. “I found this beside the electric piano! Is it also musical?”

“What’s inside is,” Toni replied, taking the case from the god and setting it on the old metal desk. She then opened it up, carefully removing the contents; an old, but well cared for violin. She placed the violin back into the case and took out the bow, inspecting it carefully. “I’ll have to get some rosin for this bow, maybe even replace the horse hair…”

“Can you play it?” Steve asked. The interest in his voice brought a blush to Toni’s face.

“I used to be quite good at it,” she admitted with a smile. “I haven’t played in years though…”

“You can play a violin but not a banjo?” Clint asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Can you play a violin?”

“Well, no…”

“Then shut up.”

The rest of the morning was spent moving Toni’s things to the front attic, through a little used door towards the back of the bedroom. Most of her things, anyway; she allowed Clint to talk her into moving her instruments to the second floor living room, but wouldn’t promise to play them.

If anyone noticed the faded poster of Captain America hanging on the ceiling above Toni’s bed, they never mentioned it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finished! I wasn't really sure what I was planning with this story, beyond bringing Peter Parker/Spider-Man into the Avengers family. I've done that and really don't have anything else for this story, so why not end it here? Be sure to check out my other fics :D

“Here we are, May!” Toni said cheerfully as she opened the door. She pulled a few strings, obviously, and got the older woman into the best room the place had to offer (that wasn’t already occupied; not even Toni would kick someone out of their home to get her way). “You’ve even got your own balcony!”

“Oh, it’s lovely, Toni darling!” Toni couldn’t hide the keen pleasure it gave her to have this kind woman call her ‘darling’ and to be so completely pleased with what Toni had done for her. “And you have my stuff moved in already?” Toni nodded.

“Partially unpacked too; my team helped with that.”

“Be sure to thank them for me?” May asked as she looked around the apartment. “I’ll bake some cookies for you all once I get everything settled.”

“Anything else I can help with?” Toni asked. “I don’t want you over exerting yourself, unpacking all these boxes…”

“Oh, I’ll be just fine, Toni dear. It looks like you and your friends have already gotten all of the heavy stuff taken care of anyway. Besides…” May looked at the clock; 2:45pm. “It’s about time for you to be picking Peter, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Toni replied with a smile. Peter’s school was on the completely opposite end of the city than the Avenger’s mansion and public transportation between the two places would take forever; Toni already planned to pick him up every day, either personally or to have Happy do it for her. “I was planning to bring him over tonight…”

“Oh, no, don’t do that,” May replied. “He needs to get settled too, you know. Bring him by this weekend?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And tell him about his mother?” May’s words shocked Toni and it was clearly visible. “Don’t look so shocked, dear; Mary wore that scarf you made her through many winters and talked of you fondly.” Her smile widened. “I bet Peter would love to hear about that.”

Right at 3pm, Toni is waiting outside the school for Peter. She waves him over to the car, a simple yet sexy Pontiac that she only owns because Steve can’t drive a stick shift (yet) and she doesn’t want to overwhelm Peter’s class mates on the first day. Also, the car being an automatic means she has no problems with tossing Peter the keys and letting him drive back to the mansion.

“Did I tell you I knew your mom?” she asks simply, ready to grab the wheel if the statement shocks Peter into causing an accident.

“You did?” His voice is surprised, but they don’t die in a horrible crash. She tells him the story of the kind woman who taught her to knit when she was bedridden.

The world doesn’t seem to end and Peter thanks her for telling him.

He loves his new attic room; Castiel loves it as well, as he’s sleeping in Peter’s bed when they go in. Castiel takes to the new family member instantly, curling up on his lap the moment he sits down.

In the just the first night, Thor walks around naked, Clint calls the Wii a “cock sucking road whore”, Natasha threatens to cut Thor’s cock off if he doesn’t cover it up and Bruce ends up Hulking out when he realizes they’re out of fresh spinach.

Peter is somehow taking everything in stride as he sits in the kitchen and does homework, occasionally asking Toni for help with his calculus.

And for the first time in a long time, Toni feels completely loved by everyone around her.

It’s really a great feeling and she’s looking forward to feeling it more.


End file.
